The woes of Christmas Eve fall heavy upon us all, but heaviest upon Edmund Gravel, the Recluse of Lower Spigot. The Haunted Tea-Cosy introduces us – and him – to the Bahum Bug, intent upon “diffus[ing] the interest of didacticism.” Divers Scenes rapidly descend upon them both at the behest of barely-there, functionally-named spectres, bringing to mind…well, another book by a different author who used far more words. To no-one’s surprise, Edward Gorey’s version is much funnier.

 

Harcourt Brace & Company, 2008. Hardcover.